The last enhanced STOP (Stop Throwing Out Pollutants) program of the year will take place on Sunday, Nov. 8, from 9:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the North Hempstead Beach Park North Lot, located at 175 W. Shore Rd. in Port Washington. The Town of North Hempstead urges residents to clean out their garages, basements, attics and medicine chests for the event.
Residents can return items such as aerosols, household chemicals, pesticides, disinfectants, fertilizers, pharmaceuticals, bulbs, thermostats, rechargeable and lithium batteries, TVs and computers. Bring oil-based paints only. Latex and water-based paints will not be accepted at the STOP collection site. Once dried out, usually 24-36 hours after the lid is removed, those paints can be placed in a trash bag and thrown out with your regular household garbage. Oil-based paints, on the other hand, are considered hazardous and will be accepted at STOP Collection programs.
The Town of North Hempstead is the first town in Nassau County to offer pharmaceutical collections, and residents have the opportunity to dispose of their unwanted or unused pharmaceuticals at STOP events. In seven years, the town has diverted more than seven tons of unwanted drugs from landfills and protected our drinking water. In addition to protecting our environment, the program prevents dangerous pharmaceuticals from getting into the wrong hands.
During the STOP event on Nov. 8, North Hempstead residents can also safely shred and dispose of personal documents, minimizing the opportunity for identity theft while making a valuable contribution to the protection of the environment. Residents are invited to shred any personal paper documents and credit cards free of charge. Any commercial business documents, including home offices, will not be accepted. There is a limit of six Bankers Box-size boxes or bags of paper per car, per event. Once the documents are shredded, they will be placed into containers and sent directly to pulping mills. Every 2,000 pounds of paper the town recycles equates to 17 trees saved.
The Town will once again partner with Big Brothers Big Sisters to have a truck at the Nov. 8 STOP event. Big Brothers Big Sisters will be accepting gently used clothes, stuffed animals, electronics, toys, sporting equipment, shoes, books, small area rugs, bikes, scooters, luggage, picture frames, table lamps, bolts of fabric, silverware, glassware, dishes and cosmetics. Each resident will receive a receipt for their donation for income tax purposes.
Also, a reminder to residents that storm water drains are meant for rain water and snow melt only and should not be used as trash receptacles. Storm drains cut into curbs and are meant to remove storm water quickly from streets and surrounding areas. Some of the town’s storm drains are marked with a stainless steel medallion that says, “No Dumping. Drains to Bay,” to serve as a reminder that only rain should go down the drain.
“Educating people about storm water drains and how the whole system works is critical,” Supervisor Judi Bosworth said. “If people know that anything poured down or placed into these drains winds up in our beautiful Manhasset Bay or our groundwater, I am confident that they will cooperate and avoid dumping into the drains,” said Bosworth. “Items like pet waste, leftover lawn fertilizer, used oil, food scraps and trash should never be placed in storm drains.”
The town urges residents to dispose of pet waste in the trash. Lawn fertilizer can be swept up and kept to be applied later. Used oil can often be returned to stores that sell motor oil.
The Town of North Hempstead shares this mission with the Manhasset Bay Protection Committee (MBPC). The MBPC was formed in the 1990s with the goal of restoring and protecting Manhasset Bay. Committee membership is open to all local governments located in the watershed of Manhasset Bay. For more information on Manhasset Bay and how you can help protect and preserve it, visit the Committee’s website at www.manhassetbayprotectioncommittee.org.
For more information on the STOP program, call 311 or email recycle@northhempsteadny.gov.
—Submitted by Town of North Hempstead
